Revolutionary Army
The Revolutionary Army is a major rebel force that actively fight against the US government throughout the Into the Dark series. The Army consists of numerous former soldiers as well as poor civilians founded and lead by Lt. Dante Bishop. Dante refers to the group as "an alliance between the working class and a guerrilla army" in order to fight against the Military, find a cure for the infected and will do whatever it takes to accomplish it. The Army is spread throughout the country, but their main base of operations is located within the Appalachian Mountains. History Foundation and Early Conflicts The Revolutionary Army was founded by Lt. Dante Bishop after returning to the United States after retiring from the US Navy Special Forces. Dante originally called it "The Movement" which consisted largely of former US Military soldiers whom operated in the underground of one of many Quarantine Zones, publishing an underground newspaper, while arming and training volunteers in both conventional and guerrilla warfare. From then on they went on a recruitment drive, gaining around thousand members within a year, the majority of membership coming from poorer districts of major cities and rural areas within the Quarantine Zone. Dante and many of the other soldiers then stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on one of the military outposts. The revolutionaries dressed in army uniforms arrive and quickly seize control while simultaneously attacking the barracks and raiding the armory before the reinforcements could arrive. Supplied with new weaponry, they intended to spark a revolution among impoverished farmers, industrial workers and promote further uprisings. Dante's plan emulated those of the many 20th-century left-wing revolutionary fighters who had raided military barracks. Organizing the Revolutionary Army The Granma ran aground in a mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas, close to Los Cayuelos, on 2 December 1956. Fleeing inland, its crew headed for the forested mountain range of Oriente's Sierra Maestra, being repeatedly attacked by Batista's troops. Upon arrival, Castro discovered that only 19 rebels had made it to their destination, the rest having been killed or captured. Setting up an encampment, the survivors included the Castros, Che Guevara, and Camilo Cienfuegos. They began launching raids on small army posts to obtain weaponry, and in January 1957 they overran the outpost at La Plata, treating any soldiers that they wounded but executing Chicho Osorio, the local mayoral (land company overseer), who was despised by the local peasants and who boasted of killing one of Castro's rebels. Osorio's execution aided the rebels in gaining the trust of locals, although they largely remained unenthusiastic and suspicious of the revolutionaries. As trust grew, some locals joined the rebels, although most new recruits came from urban areas. With volunteers boosting the rebel forces to over 200, in July 1957 Castro divided his army into three columns, commanded by himself, his brother, and Guevara. The MR-26-7 members operating in urban areas continued agitation, sending supplies to Castro, and on 16 February 1957, he met with other senior members to discuss tactics; here he met Celia Sánchez, who would become a close friend. Guerrilla Warfare The group's "Manifesto" envisaged urban guerrilla warfare against President Angela Cartwright's. It called for the restoration of the US Constitution, and for social revolution, while also advocating for the working people to be . As the manifesto circulated throughout the country, the American Liberation Army grew in popularity and strength. Castro's guerrillas increased their attacks on military outposts, forcing the government to withdraw from the Sierra Maestra region, and by spring 1958, the rebels controlled a hospital, schools, a printing press, slaughterhouse, land-mine factory and a cigar-making factory.105 By 1958, Batista was under increasing pressure, a result of his military failures coupled with increasing domestic and foreign criticism surrounding his administration's press censorship, torture, and extrajudicial executions.106 Influenced by anti-Batista sentiment among their citizens, the US Government ceased supplying him with weaponry. The opposition called a general strike, accompanied by armed attacks from the MR-26-7. Beginning on 9 April, it received strong support in central and eastern Cuba, but little elsewhere. Batista responded with an all-out-attack, Operation Verano, in which the army aerially bombarded forested areas and villages suspected of aiding the militants, while 10,000 soldiers commanded by General Eulogio Cantillo surrounded the Sierra Maestra, driving north to the rebel encampments.108 Despite their numerical and technological superiority, the army had no experience with guerrilla warfare, and Castro halted their offensive using land mines and ambushes.108 Many of Batista's soldiers defected to Castro's rebels, who also benefited from local popular support.109 In the summer, the MR-26-7 went on the offensive, pushing the army out of the mountains, with Castro using his columns in a pincer movement to surround the main army concentration in Santiago. By November, Castro's forces controlled most of Oriente and Las Villas, and divided Cuba in two by closing major roads and rail lines, severely disadvantaging Batista.110 Accompanying celebrations at news of Batista's downfall on 1 January 1959, Castro ordered the MR-26-7 to prevent widespread looting and vandalism. Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January, while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence. Heading toward Havana, he greeted cheering crowds at every town, giving press conferences and interviews. Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959. Consolidating Leadership Captain Rod Wilson and some of his men from the planned to a coup d'etat in order to take power back from Dante Bishop the leader of the Revolutionary Army and the de facto leader of the country. However, the coup failed and ended in the execution of the all the remaining United States Army leadership. Internal Structure Strength The Revolutionary Army are shown to be the best trained, well equipped faction after the US military. Most of the militants at the end of the series wield powerful weaponry, such as assault rifles and light machine guns while the elite soldiers possessed body armor gas masks and combat helmets. Some use military explosives and anti tank weapons, ensuring the player faces difficulty at both short long range. A select few also use gas masks. They are also shown to possess elite units such as the Special Operations Group and the Expeditionary Force whom are lead by high ranking officers of the army. In the beginning of the novel, the deceased militants are seen without any armor or heavy weaponry. Some corpses are also discovered are implied to have been killed by Infected; some of these possessed molotov cocktails as well as sub machine guns, sniper rifles, and machetes but most were unarmed. However, the reason for their poor equipment likely stems from the fact that the Revolutionary Army wanted to keep a low profile, and didn't want to transport powerful weapons and body armor across the country and risk losing them. The Revolutionary Army are shown to be well versed in guerrilla warfare, hit-and-run attacks, and scorched earth tactics which make them effective against the United States Army and the Infected-Horde Army. The Revolutionary Army have done well against the military in many places, notably Pittsburgh, where they joined forces with rebel citizens and successfully defeated the government in the region. Known Members *'Lt.' Dante Bishop - one of the founders and the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Army *Ethan Parker - Captain of the Revolutionary Army and leader of the Special Operations Group *Jacob Rogers - Captain of the Revolutionary Army and leader of the Expeditionary Force *Annie Stevens - Spy for the Revolutionary Army and member of the Special Operations Group *Nathan Miller - Soldier of the Revolutionary Army and deputy-leader of the Special Operations Group *Barry Hoover - Soldier of the Revolutionary Army and member of the Special Operations Group *Marco Rose - Soldier of the Revolutionary Army and member of the Special Operations Group *Candice Myers - Combat Medic of the Revolutionary Army *Andrew - Soldier of the Revolutionary Army and member of the Expeditionary Force *Cameron - Soldier of the Revolutionary Army and member of the Expeditionary Force *Micheal - Soldier of the Revolutionary Army and member of the Expeditionary Force Equipment Firearms * Knight's Armament SR-25 * Benelli M4 Super 90 * AK-74 * Dragunov sniper rifle * IMI Uzi * M249-E1 SAW * RPG-7 Sidearms * M1911 pistol * SIG Sauer P230 Melee Weapons * Combat Knife * Machete * Survival Knife Others * Molotov Cocktails * Combat helmets * Nail Bombs * Gas masks * Ballistic Vests Category:Organizations Category:Anti-government forces